


Cleanup Crew

by carpelucem



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, House Cleaning, M/M, Underage Drinking, by US law anyway, passing references to Raleigh and Tendo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-02-11 22:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2085087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpelucem/pseuds/carpelucem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh and Tendo call Yancy the neat freak, but he’s more of the mindset that not leaving plates to crust in the sink or taking out the trash before it spills onto the floor is less an obsession and more just basic human decency and respect for your housemates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cleanup Crew

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](https://31.media.tumblr.com/e4c3e24e2a17b51e55f7f5fc931c4615/tumblr_inline_n849x6bPxK1qgaiz2.png) image I saw on Buzzfeed.

Raleigh and Tendo call Yancy the neat freak, but he's more of the mindset that not leaving plates to crust in the sink or taking out the trash before it spills onto the floor is less an obsession and more just basic human decency and respect for your housemates.

Tendo is taking Raleigh out to celebrate his promotion and Yancy's begged off for the night. He wants to sit on the patio with a beer and decompress after a long week riddled with dumb people asking dumber questions. Emerging from his room after they take off in a fog of cologne and hair pomade, though, Yancy sees the tornado of shit they've left in their wake and knows he won't be able to relax until it's picked up. 

Some days, he feels more like a kindergarten teacher than an accountant.

Sliding the door open to air out the living room, Yancy grabs a trash bag and starts chucking random shit into it, wrappers and junk mail and crumpled empty containers. They're having a come-to-Jesus tomorrow about the mess, he and his roommates, because Yancy's sick of cleaning up after them. 

Every time he lifts a cushion or moves an ottoman aside, there's more crap underneath. The loud ' _fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck_!' that follows tripping over Raleigh's work boots and smacking his shin on the coffee table echoes off the tile patio, and the throbbing pain makes him forget the door's wide open. 

The distant shout of "you okay, man?" startles him so much, Yancy drops the overflowing sack of crap in his shock, spilling the top layer of trash back onto the floor. With another muttered curse, he pokes his head out onto the deck. 

Yancy can see the guy who lives next door over the divider, how he has a tennis ball in one hand and a leash wrapped around the other. He's looking at Yancy like he just might have grown a second head, concern writ on his face. 

"Um. Hi." Yancy starts to rub a hand against his jaw, then remembers the myriad of junk he's just been pawing through and drops it back to his side. "I'm fine, thanks. Sorry about the noise." 

The guy leans into the low stucco wall, shrugs a shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't need help. Thought you might have fallen, couldn't get up, and I'd have to call 911."

Yancy narrows his eyes, the guy's got a sly smirk on his face, and he thinks he might have just called Yancy old. "No, just cleaning up after the kids." 

The smug expression falls and the guy tosses the ball once in the air. "You have kids?" 

Yancy looks back towards the living room, the pile of discarded shoes and tangle of game controllers, the unwashed glasses on the counter and leaning pile of unopened mail, before he shakes his head. "Not exactly."

"Huh." He just stands there another minute and Yancy thinks it might be enough of a distraction, having someone to talk to, that he can forget the mess for a minute. He needs a break, a lump's swelling on his leg, and sitting - sitting would be good. Yancy drops into one of the Adirondacks and looks towards his neighbor.

"You want a drink?" 

"Yeah, okay."

"Deal is, you have to go grab them from the fridge, because my dumbass brother and friend can't pick up their trash. Cool?"

"Yeah, cool." The guy looks at the low wall and raises an eyebrow. "You want me to jump or?" 

"Door's open, Evel Knievel. Beer's in the fridge." 

Yancy watches him go back through the sliding door on his side, sees the light flick off. He can hear the front door open and a holler of 'just me!'

A bottle's in Yancy's hand a few moments later and he looks up gratefully as he takes the first sip. "Thanks, man. I'm Yancy." 

"Chuck. Thanks for the beer." Chuck tugs one of the other chairs closer, turns it to face the falling sun. They sit in silence for a minute or two before Chuck clears his throat. "So, uh. Place is kind of a tip." 

Yancy hides a grimace with the bottle at the thought of what he has left to do. "No shit. You have roommates?" 

Chuck takes a long drink, swipes his palm across his mouth, shakes his head. "Nah, just my dog. Broke him of the whole chewing shit up habit when he was a pup." He smiles at Yancy. "Want me to help with your brother?" 

He laughs a little, because if only it were that easy. "Think it's set in now, he's been a pig his whole life." 

"You all pay rent, right?" 

"Yeah." Yancy swallows. "Why?" 

"Tell them you're jacking their share up if they don't clean their crap. No need to live in that wreck." Chuck sets his empty bottle down, folds his hands behind his head. "I mean, it makes sense." 

Yancy finishes his beer and mulls over the thought. He's not a nanny and he has enough to deal with at work without wrangling Tendo and Raleigh like two overgrown frat boys at home. It's just easier not to fight about it most days. "Do you have siblings?" 

Chuck shakes his head and Yancy wonders if he imagines the wistful look that crosses Chuck's face for just a split second. "Only child. Mum died when I was small and my dad never had any more." 

"Gotta say I'm jealous. You want another beer?"

Chuck nods, points back to the kitchen. "So I'll just - yeah. Be right back." 

Yancy hides the smile when he hears Chuck bump into something, curse under his breath. Yeah, they're all going to have a discussion once Raleigh and Tendo's inevitable hangovers have worn off tomorrow. 

He murmurs his thanks when Chuck hands him another drink, damp fingertips catching for just a moment. 

"I could help, if you want." Yancy looks over at Chuck, who is peeling the label from his bottle. 

"Help with what?" 

"I'll help you haul the rest of that crap downstairs. Won't take very long." Chuck's shoulder hitches up in another shrug. "I mean, if you want."

"Nothing better to do on a Friday night than clean your neighbor's place?" Yancy's only teasing, but Chuck looks away, takes a deep swallow from the bottle in his hand. 

"Yeah, guess not." 

"Hey." Yancy reaches over, thumps his fist against Chuck's forearm. "I'd appreciate that, if you want to do it. Thank you."

A little tension uncoils from Chuck's frame and he watches Yancy for a minute. "Ok." 

"I'd be happy to pay you, it's a hell of a job." 

Chuck looks at the beer in his hand. "Actually, about that-"

Yancy sets his drink on the tile, leans in. "What?"

Chuck looks up, flashes a smile that looks almost hopeful. "Buy me a twelve pack of this and we're sorted."

Yancy laughs, he wouldn't clean anyone else's house for beer. "You want beer? To help me excavate that wreck?"

Chuck takes a deep breath and swallows another mouthful. "Yeah, well. I'm not twenty-one yet, which is total bullshit, because at home, I can drink no problem, but I've still got another month here until it's legal or whatever and it's fucking stupid." The words spill out in a rush and he drinks again quickly, like he thinks Yancy's going to pry the bottle away from him when he finds out Chuck's not twenty-one. Yancy's not because he remembers what it was like to be right on the cusp, how frustrating that was. Chuck wants to work for beer, Yancy can do that.

"Deal." He offers his hand and a slow smile spreads across Chuck's face, wide and brilliant, when he shakes it. The sight of the dimples in his face warms Yancy a little, for some odd reason. The throbbing in his leg's mostly subsided now, probably due to the beer, so they finish up and head inside. 

Shoveling out the rest of the living room, clearing the counters and loading the dishwasher doesn't take long with Chuck there. Yancy learns Chuck's transferred to school stateside after his father took a job a few hours away, that he plays basketball with the Weis on the ground floor twice a week, and that his bulldog Max whines after being left alone for too long. Chuck brings him over, and Yancy spends a couple minutes scratching the dog's ears, letting him slobber on Yancy's arm while Chuck goes on about Max's arsenal of tricks.

"You hungry?" 

Chuck looks around, at the freshly wiped surfaces and the clean stove. "You want to mess it up again?" 

"I was thinking takeout. You like pizza?" 

"If your leg's good, I'm down for whatever." 

After hauling trash bags to the dumpster, they decide to walk the dog down to the pizza place a few blocks over, and Yancy stops on the way home to buy Chuck his beer. 

"Looks like you've got a good night planned," the clerk remarks, handing Yancy's ID back over to him. Yancy sees Chuck through the grated window of the shop, holding a pizza box and talking to Max on the sidewalk, and nods at the woman who hands him his change. 

"Yeah, I hope so," he answers sincerely, and thanks her before taking the two six-packs off the counter. Chuck straightens up, smiles at Yancy when he comes outside. 

"All set?" 

As the night wears on, Yancy thinks he might have to put that conversation with Raleigh and Tendo about cleaning the house off for a while, until next month at the least. He wonders how much beer he'll buy in the next four weeks so Chuck will come back over and help him with the mess. 

The next Friday night, Chuck mutters 'fuck it', and sets the Windex bottle down in the middle of wiping down the sliding door. He pushes Yancy against it, kissing him until there are fingerprint smudges all over the glass. 

The following morning, in between lazy kisses and a coffee run, Chuck helps Yancy make up a chore chart for Tendo and Raleigh, so they can put their Friday nights to much better use.


End file.
